Starlit sunrise
by Gemma Inkyboots
Summary: Oh boy, now the 'boots is going for a songfic style thing. Be afraid, but read anyway.
1. Starlit sunrise

'Y ello, me again. I've just read a review that complemented me on my angsting (thank you very much! eeee!) which is fortunate as this is a sort of angsty, songficcy...thing. I've been on a Billy Joel kick for a while now, and I've been desperate to try doing a songfic. (Never done one before, you have been warned.) I wanted to do 'You're my home' (lovely mushy song) but got the giggles at the line 'you're my castle, you're my cabin and my instant pleasuredome.'

I had a mental image of Skyfire as a trampoline.

Juvenile, yes, and not the intention I know, but I just couldn't face it. (Tries not to giggle. Fails.) Anyway. I love BJ and this song fitted (I wrote the fic around the song; it'd better fit!) but I had to change the pronouns and filk it a smidge. Go easy on me.

And yes, I know the title's weird. I'll explain it after you read the thing.

* * *

Starlit sunrise

Skyfire stumbled down the corridors of the Arc, sending up a silent, weary prayer to Primus that nothing else would happen to keep him from recharge this shift. Finally reaching the entrance to his quarters he keyed in the short code and wobbled over to his bunk, a small light switching on automatically as he staggered in and creating shadows in the bare room.

**_He can kill with a smile..._**

One disadvantage of being so big in comparison to the others was that he needed much more space than they did - his room was as big as the twinned quarters Sunstreaker and Sideswipe shared, and every step set off hollow echoes that hung like ghosts in the dark. Skyfire glanced wearily around as he sat, noting gloomily that his meagre belongings huddled together on the surfaces as if they were lonely, refugees lost in a foreign place.

_**He can wound with his eyes...**_

Weren't they, though? Wasn't he a stranger amongst his own kind now?

Skyfire shook his head. The Autobots weren't his own kind, and that was part of the problem - he was a scientist amongst warriors, no matter how hard he tried to fit in, and there were times when he was lonelier in the Arc than he had ever been on any new world.

_But then,_ his spark whispered sadly, _I know why that is, don't I...?_ Skyfire groaned and shook his head, trying to block the voice out as he had for so many nights now, trying to forget the words...but he never could.

_**He can ruin your faith with his casual lies...**_

If he was honest with himself he'd admit it, that every time there was a battle he'd go out and push himself harder than he should - trying to fall straight into recharge when he got back so he wouldn't have to lie in his quarters time after time, his thoughts limping through his mind and coming apart at the seams, trying not to remember... _Trying not to remember your bondmate,_ his soul whispered mournfully, _trying not to remember the one you spent your life with, cherished, trusted..._

Skyfire groaned again, giving up on recharging, and let his quiet pain cloud the air. The last time he'd seen Starscream, the flier - _no, the seeker, that's what he's become_ - had shown him exactly how his affection would be returned.

_**And he only reveals what he wants you to see...**_

_I thought I knew him, and he left me. I shot him, after I swore - I swore I would never leave, never cut him off... but I did. I did, and he did, and now... Now I don't know him. Not any more. I thought there was something, some part of him left that hadn't changed, but - why wouldn't he tell me? He could always talk to me, he knew that - he trusted me. He trusted me and I let him down. But he never told me...Why couldn't he talk to me?_

_**He hides like a child **_

_The Autobots didn't trust me because I knew him. They weren't sure of me for months, until I proved my worth in battle... _The scientist barked a short, mirthless laugh. _Hah! Me, having to fight and kill to prove my worth! ...And yet I did it. It seems Starscream is not the only one to have changed. _Skyfire lay on his back, gazing sightlessly up at the ceiling. _And after all this time, the months have done nothing to change it... I can't fight him. I can't. I tried, I wanted to hate him and I can't. There's nothing I can do._

_I tried to hate him. I wanted to - it would have made everything to much easier. But..._

_**But he shines like the starlight to me**_

_I still love him. He shot me, threw me away, made it clear he doesn't want me._

_**He can lead you to love, he can take you or leave you**_

_He's mine. And I'm his. And there is nothing I can do to stop it. I should..._

_**He can ask for the truth but he'll never believe**_

_...but I don't want to stop. No matter how much it hurts, I can't. _

_**And he'll take what you give him as long as it's free**_

_I've always been his. Whether he wants me or not, I have always been his. I always will be, long after the war is over and long after we are both gone, I will still love him. He has part of me._

_**He steals like a thief**_

_And whether he likes it or not - whether he...whether he loves me or not...he will always have part of me._

_**But he shines like the starlight to me **_

Round and round, the guilt chasing the tails of his questions in a dizzying spiral over and over again - betray Starscream to stay true to himself, betray himself to stay true to the Autobots, betray the Autobots to stay true to Starscream... Every way he turned there was a bloody trail of pain and deceit he couldn't escape, and the carcass of his past clung to him like a broken promise to pull him down. And the look in Starscream's optics haunted him.

Not the venom. Not the spiteful glares. The fleeting moment when it seemed that a bewildered, anguished child stared at him from behind blood-red crystal, and wailed "_you promised!" _

Before the defenses snapped up and locked his bondmate away. Before the seeker shot him.

_**Oh, he takes care of himself**_

He would never forgive himself. Whatever he did, someone would get hurt - and Starscream would never forgive him. It had been too long.

**_He can wait if he wants_**

But Skyfire knew he would never have another bondmate. Not after Starscream - the seeker was too much a part of him.

_**He's the prince of his kind**_

Thoughts trailing off at a stalemate, as they always did, he listened to his systems finally power down and turned off the light with a voice command, the sudden darkness bringing him no help or hope but the dead, hollow ache in his spark - and a lingering, stubborn vision of silver shimmering in the dark.

**_Oh, and he never gives out..._**

Nights later Skyfire was standing out by the Arc's entrance bay, watching dusk smother the Sun in a mauve shroud and trying to put off recharging as long as possible. The shift had ended a few hours ago, the next watch marching cheerfully out in the late afternoon sun as the previous one trooped in - a handful had called out a greeting and Skyfire had nodded and smiled back, grateful for the reprieve the idle banter gave him.

He'd managed to forget about Starscream for a while, talking to the incoming watch, until Bluestreak had cracked some joke about why seekers were so stubborn.

"Because they're too stupid to know when to quit?" sniggered Sideswipe, half seriously. Skyfire had only been listening with one audioreceptor, having been talking to Hound about some interesting part of Earth's geography the tracker had come across, and his mind was elsewhere when he absently said "Depends on the seeker. Starscream's been stubborn since before I knew him..."

There was a sudden hush. Skyfire realised what he'd said and mentally kicked himself.

**_And he never gives in..._**

The others were looking at him, almost warily, and the silence dragged on for a long, awkward moment until Hound turned to Bluestreak and led the gunner off, starting up a quiet conversation about nothing in particular. The scientist would've thanked him then and there, if he could. The others however just stood and looked at him, almost accusing, until Skyfire had to drop his optics and look away. He heard the scuff of feet, and when the sound grew further away, the hum of muted conversation. About him.

Now he stood and watched the first stars come out. In the silence, the low 'ping' of his comlink activating sounded unusually loud - Skyfire activated it, and listened in utter shock to the message.

**_- he just changes his mind._**

Skyfire touched down carefully on the grass in the clearing. In another life he would have been surprised at the choice of location - the surrounding trees were thick and tangled, though the clearing was large enough for him not to feel claustrophobic - but he knew that the one he was meeting wanted privacy.

He waited, in the dark, hope warring with fears of betrayal, of a trap, of some cruel joke - then he turned, wings flashing pale in the starlight, at a tentative sound from behind him.

"Hello, Skyfire" Starscream said in the silence.

**_He is frequently kind and he's suddenly cruel_**

**_He can do as he pleases he's nobody's fool_**

**_But he can't be convicted, three strikes and he's free,_**

**_And the least he will do is rain fire on you_**

_**But he shines like the starlight to me**_

* * *

This was based on 'She's always a woman' by Billy Joel. I didn't write it or sing it (professionally, at least. What I do in my kitchen is my business ;) ) and I definitely don't own it. I just made a fic out of it and filked it a bit. If you don't know who Billy Joel is, or at least one of his songs, I'm gobsmacked. Uptown Girl? We Didn't Start The Fire? (Eighties singalong, anyone? I'm a sucker for eighties music. Love the stuff.)

Oh, yeah - the title means Skyfire's watching the stars and the sun comes back up (metaphor, people...) on him and Starscream. Relationship-wise, not literally. It could, or it could mean Starscream's like the sun to Skyfire. I'm not 100% sure, but it sounds good. Very poncey-author-thinking.

As ever, read and review.


	2. Sundown's detritus

Another cheery dollop of angst for you all. No, this is not the end! BWAHA! 'Twill be a three-parter! BWAHA! It's Starscream's POV! BWAHA!

Um...I'll stop now. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and no, this wasn't a one-shot! I thought about it for ages, wrestled with hundreds of possible songs (but funnily enough I've had no trouble deciding which one to use for the final part...) and finally dragged this one out kicking and screaming. Speaking of screaming, see if you can see the difference between Skyfire and Starscream's reactions here... I'll stop there or I'll spoil it. Enjoy!

* * *

Sundown's detritus

Starscream stared out of a porthole at the gloom, black rollers crashing down miles overhead with the crushing weight of the Pacific Ocean bearing down on him. He watched the slow, patient seabed killers slink and drift, swaying hypnotically with the currents of the waves, then turn in a second to darting assassins, rip and maul, blindly tearing apart unwary prey and pulling them to pieces in the blinding, suffocating gloom.

Starscream knew how they felt - the pull of the ocean, the force of the waves crashing down on him - the constant ache in his soul like a black hole in his spark was tearing him to pieces.

**_Hold up _**

_Hold up..._

The seeker couldn't escape it, couldn't run away from it - even throwing himself into the sky and soaring frantically as high and as far and as fast as he could go he couldn't get away. He was constantly being pulled to Earth, irresistible and inescapable as a hook in his metal flesh, infected and bleeding fuel - a barb he had set and couldn't tear away, not without ripping himself to shreds.

The irony was killing him.

_**Hold on**_

_Hold on..._

_Oh no you don't. You're lying again, just like you've lied for years, _sneered a voice in his mind. _Irony never did anything for or against you, you stupid seeker. It's everything else you block out that hurts, isn't it? _Starscream turned away from the porthole and tried to ignore it - ignore the voice like he'd ignored everything else he didn't want to face up to.

The hardest part was ignoring the fact that the voice was his own.

"Shut up." he grated, turning to stomp down the deserted hallways to his quarters. "It's in the past - it means nothing."

_**Don't be scared**_

_Be scared..._

_Nothing? _The voice demanded. _It used to mean everything! It still does - you just won't face up to it!_

"There is nothing to face up to!" the seeker snarled, jabbing at the keypad and prowling into his quarters as the door hissed open. "There's nothing left - it all died when he betrayed me!"

_He betrayed you? Let's just remind ourself who shot who first, shall we?_

"Shooting has nothing to do with it!" Starscream shrieked. "He left me! He abandoned me!"

_Ah...but you abandoned him first, didn't you?_

"No!"

**_Cos everything has been and gone. _**

_Oh yes you did. You left him behind so you could save your sorry aft, and the sooner you admit it the better!_

"NO!"

Starscream whirled, hurling himself out of his quarters and throwing himself down the corridors to the hangar. He shot past a startled Thundercracker and nearly fell over Frenzy, who picked himself up to yell insults as Skywarp laughed and Starscream dove into the tower. He paced impatiently while it rose ponderously through the churning sea, trying desperately to silence the voice in his head that whispered of betrayal, abandonment, loss - Starscream threw himself off the tower and hurtled into the sky, screaming at the top of his voice as he punched through thick stormclouds and raced into the clear, bright sky above - only to remember laughing with Skyfire on the way to a new planet. He banked and plunged through the clouds again, slicing through to skim above the wavetips as the rain battered down.

_**May your smile**_

_Oh, your smile..._

I remember smiling.

_I remember your smile._

Why did you leave?

Why did you betray me?

Starscream felt like his fuel pump would shatter, his spark splitting between his pride, his defences - and what he knew was the truth. He halted in midair, unable to run any further, unable to get away from himself - the rain poured from his plating in rivers, and a human watcher would think he was crying.

_How could I leave you?_

_**Shine on**_

_Shine on..._

_I left... I left you before, and I wanted you back so much - I felt so guilty, all the time, and I never thought...I didn't think that you didn't know about the War. It always felt like you knew everything - if I was alone or afraid you were always there. You always knew what to do, what to say...I was useless at that. I always have been.._

_**Don't be scared **_

_Always scared..._

A single low, choked whisper limped from between his lips as the rain carried his words away.

"I'm sorry."

_**  
Your destiny may keep you warm**_

_You were mine, my life, my only - and I pushed you away. You always were mine - ever since we first met, you said - and I never minded being 'yours'. You never tried to own me, or hurt me... _A bitter sneer twisted jet-black lips. _Unlike some. You never tried to tie me down - you held my hand as you showed me the stars.**  
  
And all of the stars  
**_

_You helped me to fly, and I shot you down. _

**_Are fading away..._**

The rain-blurred form shivered with the cold, lost in the storm as he tried to come to terms with what he only now realised he'd done, the reaction hitting him with all the strength of a black hole.

_And there's no way on earth I can ever tell you how sorry I am._

The cruel, vicious seeker hung in the air and let out the long, low moan of agony of a wounded animal as he recognised the ache that had been haunting him.

Guilt.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Starscream sat in his quarters, flopped on his recharge bunk and staring blankly at his hands. There was nothing he could do, no way he could make it up to Skyfire even if his companion - the seeker winced. Even if his companion wanted to talk to him. And Starscream knew better than anyone that Skyfire had precious few reasons to want to.

_**Just try not to worry**_

This hopeless knowing was almost as painful as losing him the first time. Starscream leant back on his elbows and let out a groan, optics gazing despairingly through the ceiling.

This wasn't supposed to happen! He was being eaten alive while Skyfire was only a few hundred miles away, and he _couldn't face him_.

_**  
You'll see them some day**_

And that was the whole truth. Starscream couldn't face him again. It had been months since he'd last seen Skyfire last...and the last time he'd _shot_ the scientist - Starscream briefly shut off his optics - _Again._

**_Take what you need, and be on your way  
_**

_I may as well face it. After the way I've treated Skyfire he'll never want to see me again, let alone talk to me. I've ruined everything, all because I wouldn't stop to think or listen to him I never got the chance to explain...._

**_And stop crying your heart out._**

A fresh wave of pain rose up to greet him, and Starscream fell down face forward on his berth as he shook like a leaf in the wind.

**_  
Get up... _**

The seeker suddenly sat up, a hopeless, determined look on his face like a prisoner being led to the scaffold.

_...Get up..._

_No. I won't leave it like this. I can't..._

**_Come on... _**

His hand moved to the comlink in his gauntlet, then a wave of indecision and sheer, mindless terror swamped on...

_I can't! I can't do it - he hates me! He must hate me...I can't do this!_

_**Why're you scared?**_

His hand shook. _What in Primus' name can I **say?**..._

_I'm not scared..._

His hand hovered...and connected. Starscream left a message - and some co-ordinates. His internals surged - part in the relief of making a decision, part in fresh blind panic.

_All right, genius, now what? _A silent voice sneered.

Starscream held himself still with an effort. Too much happening all at once, too many conflicting thoughts and fears and all too soon - if Skyfire did come for whatever reason, the seeker would be struck dumb and babbling in a corner somewhere long before he arrived.

Starscream got up, and paused in the doorway.

_Now, _he thought carefully and deliberately to the voice in his head,_ I go and expect the worst. That way I won't be disappointed. And I try to tell him that I'm sorry._

**_You'll never change what's been and gone_**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starscream paced on the fringes of the clearing, constantly sending sharp carmine glances up at the sky as if to spite the sensors that told him Skyfire was nowhere near.

_He's not coming._

He scowled absently as he smacked a wing on a passing tree, only noticing the jolt that knocked him back into the shadows and into the treeline.

_I knew it - he's not coming. And why should he? It's not like he'll be expecting me to roll out the red carpet for him - if anything he'd probably think it was a trap._

He finally worked his wings out from the clinging treesand was about to step back out into the clearing - when the distant hum of a jet engine came singing through the night. Starscream's fuel pump skipped a beat and he froze to the spot like some absurd statue, gaping upwards and unable to move or look away.

Skyfire transformed as he approached the clearing, oblivious to the anxious, hungry scarlet optics that watched his every move. The huge white jet landed softly on the grass and glanced around, blue optics glowing softly in the dark before he turned and stood with his back to the seeker.

_Probably surprised I chose a wood to meet in, _Starscream thought absently, watching the moonlight play off Skyfire's armour as he stood waiting patiently. _I used to complain about getting caught in the trees when he could just push straight through... _

He winced at the memory and tried to summon up the courage to move, say something, throw his arms round Skyfire and have a nervous breakdown - anything! But all he could do was stand there, watching.He shifted his weight, trying to be quiet enough for Skyfire not to hear him, but the jet picked up the tiny, tentative step and immediately turned so they were face-to-face across the clearing.

Starscream froze. Now they were here, now it came down to it...he could think of absolutely nothing to say. His mind a blank, spinning desperately for something, anything, to break the awful, yawning, unnatural silence between them, he blurted out the first, most inane thing that flashed into his head.

"Hello, Skyfire" Starscream said in the silence.

**_Now all of the scars  
Are fading away  
So you're not to worry  
At the end of the day  
Take what you need  
I'll be here all the way  
So stop crying your heart out  
Stop crying your heart out  
Stop crying your heart out..._**

* * *

Yep, you guessed it, the seeker was the one in denial. Not that it wasn't dead easy to see... As ever, please read and review.

'Stop crying your heart out' is © Oasis, or whoever wrote it in/for the band. Starscream and Skyfire are © Hasbro, depending on what country you live in ( At least I _think_ it's different- might be interesting to find that out. 'Who Else Owns The Transformers?' Sounds like a TV show. That idea's © me! I bugsie'd it first!) Ahem. The story's © me too.


	3. Dealing with the dawn

Last chapter! Oh boy...I've got a trend running through this one and 'Meetings' 13, not that I'm giving anything away, so tell me if they're too out of character. Please, even if it's written on the pitchfork if you think it's really bad ;) Off we go -

Cyblade Silver: Here y'go, part three. Let me know if it's as good as the others - I'm a bit twitchy in case it's too OOC. You tell me.

Jess: You Jessica's getting one! Me 'boots say thanks and wriggles in chair with glee! **_Me Grimlock say we get on our way!_ **Ah. I can take a hint...I'll shut up and get on with it. Hi-ho, hi-ho...

Skins Thunderbomb: Mmmh, you'd better keep an eye on that heart... Heh. Thanks, and I hope this lives up to expectations.

Soryu: Yep, last chapter - reporting for duty! Glad you liked the last one; I was a bit worried that I'd got Starscream too out of character, but I think he would be the guilty, denial-y emotional one. Skyfire's more solid and true, if you see what I mean, and he'd stick to it, but Starscream's all panicky and emotional. Awww. It took me ages to actually choose a flippin' song for this fic, so it'd better fit! Heh. I'm glad you like, and I'm now going to go and bounce aroung the room in glee. Woohoo!

Final chapter people - last chunk of angst until I carry on with 'Sins'. Make the most of it! The song's 'Bring me to life' - don't let that put you off - but everyone seems to just use the first verse and it didn't really fit like that, so I did my usual and twisted it around to fit better ' That's why it might read a bit weird. Enjoy...

* * *

Dealing with the dawn

Silence.

Complete, utter, total silence.

"Hello, Skyfire" Starscream said.

Optics met, each searching for some sign in the other - hesitant red trying to find any touch of hatred in reserved icy blue, puzzled and half-hopeful sapphires trying to fathom through scarlet clouds and find the truth, any truth. Neither dared to hope too far, or trust too early - time had seen to that.

_**All this time I can't believe I couldn't see**_

Starscream stared dumbly, any control he had left wearing away to shreds in the awful, jangling silence, and the soft, warm blue glow seemed just that - a sign of life in an ice statue looming pale in the murk. Skyfire hadn't said a word - standing there staring at him, face blank and optics bright and unwavering, and any hope Starscream had of being able to talk to him withered under the cold, unfeeling stars. The yawning gape in his spark shrieked in despair and silent agony, and the seeker's optics flickered and dimmed as he fought not to flinch or fall to his knees and scream.

**_Kept in the dark-_**

Desperate and crying inside, the barriers snapped and torn, he drew his tattered defences round him like a cloak and pulled himself up, head high and optics flaring.

Fine then. He wouldn't beg, he wouldn't show it. He was a Decepticon warrior, a fighting seeker, and he would keep his dignity as his heart shattered into pieces.

He didn't notice he was trembling.

**_-but you were there in front of me_**

Skyfire stared into brilliant red optics, caution learnt from time spent with seasoned fighters falling to wrack and ruin as he searched for any inkling of what the seeker wanted.

A faint, soft hope flickered, hidden away in his spark as soon as it surfaced.

_Could... Could he..._

The scientist wavered, stunned at the thought, and tried to see into the crimson fires and read the flames of Starscream's spark as he used to do so easily. The seeker's optics were wide and flared radiant in the dark, but millennia of hiding his mind from others had left a veil between Starscream and the rest of the world, and Skyfire couldn't find his way through the smoke.

Suddenly a silent cry whipped through the clouds and the shroud lifted - for a split-second Skyfire could _see_ Starscream's sudden pain and grief, red optics dimming as his spark rocked and slumped to the floor wailing in agony. A ragged, battered wall hid him like a shield of thorns, and Skyfire fell away - dropping back into his shell with a start and staring in horror as the seeker raised his chin and glared at him, optics on fire and shoulders back, not noticing that his wingtips trembled and the fire pits welled too bright to believe.

**_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything_**

Skyfire opened his mouth.

"Starscre-"

"Well, you obviously don't want to talk" the seeker snarled, face contorted in a scowl that never even approached the condescending put-down he had intended but limped towards that of an angry child, confused and hurt but too defiant to admit it. He turned and continued over his shoulder as he stalked off, pain in every step but nonchalance in every line of his body. "It seems I was wasting my time."

Skyfire stood frozen. _He's lying - he's lying! I knew it, and now I'm standing here like a dummy and letting him go! _

**_Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul..._**

As Starscream walked, he forced his head up and stared at the stars with an agonised glare that would outmatch any one of them.

_I should have known. He doesn't want me - he won't forgive me, he doesn't care any more - I knew it and I still came. I'm such a fool... a glutton for punishment. That's all I've ever been..._

Heavy footsteps behind him. "Starscream-"

**_Don't let me die here - there must be something more-_**

White, outstretched fingers brushed his arm. He froze.

**_Bring me to life _**

"Don't go..."

_**Wake me up inside**_

He couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely think - the fingers slipped away, trails of fire in their wake cutting through the cold. He tried not to tremble. _Now what...? What else can-_

Fingertips shaky on his shoulder, as if unsure whether to stay or go. They dropped, but didn't pull away again - running slow and gossamer-light down his arm like tremulous butterflies in Autumn, trying to find a safe place to rest. Starscream couldn't move if Megatron himself was after him - white uncertainty traced down his wrist to trail over the side of his palm, reaching his little finger and wrapping around it, gently but as if he was a lifeline to safety, the last port in a storm. He didn't move, still couldn't look round, and the fingers took it as it was meant - pale thumb at the base of his finger, fingertips ran carefully over each of his and curled around them, the thumb brushing lightly over the back of his hand and never leaving his metal skin as Skyfire slowly took his hand.

_**Wake me up inside**_

Starscream turned, little by little, and raised his optics to Skyfire's - wide, wondering red meeting anxious blue. The seeker's internals pitched as he stared into warm, deep sapphires, and Skyfire fell into a crimson that flickered and rose in amazement as hands clasped intuitive, and no words came.

**_I'd become so numb, without a soul_**

That didn't mean Starscream didn't try - he fought the moment and whispered "Skyfire..."

To his surprise a hint of a smile touched pale lips, and Skyfire realised what the seeker had come to say as Starscream realised that it didn't need to be said. Not now. Not aloud.

**_My spirit sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it here - and lead it back home_**

Optics never parted as a hand pulled away and ran wonderingly down a white wing. Skyfire bent and knelt, never letting go of Starscream's other hand, and held the seeker close to trail fingers down his back and trace patterns over silver plating. Starscream stared into his face and ran blue palms and fingers over the familiar curves and lines as though he'd been waiting for the chance a thousand, thousand years.

_**Wake me up inside**_

He had. They both had, and they spent the rest of the night together remembering - and forgetting - as if they were the only beings on Earth, rediscovering the delight and wonder of falling in love all over again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Pale light drifted over the sky, softly washing the traces of night from the sky. Two figures lay watching, entwined on the grass with no thought for anything other than each other and the morning sunlight. They hadn't moved for some time, and both were idly playing with the fancy that, if they didn't move or think about the outside world, they could stay here together forever.

**_Woke me up inside_**

As if the world was thumbing its nose at their game, Skyfire's comlink chimed. Starscream groaned inaudibly and buried his face in white armour, holding just a little tighter for one moment more. Skyfire sighed - he answered it and fended off Prowl's careful questions about where he'd been all night. Someone - probably Cliffjumper, most likely - had obviously mentioned his slip from last night, and now the Autobot Second was either worried about him or for him. Skyfire would have put money on the first. He told Prowl he'd stood outside the base for a while, then had found a clearing and watched the stars. Yes, he was still there now. Yes, he'd be back soon. Prowl signed off with a faint niggle of suspicion, but soon forgot about it and didn't bother mentioning it to Prime short of muttering about Cliffjumper's outrageous paranoia.

**_Called my name _**

Skyfire shut off his comlink and felt Starscream's gaze on him.

"I suppose it wouldn't do any good to try and convert you to the glorious Decepticon cause?" he said drily. Skyfire snorted and looked at him. The seeker's tone was candid and a little wistful. "No. And I don't suppose you'd join the Heroic Autobots, either."

Starscream smothered a sigh. "Not particularly."

**_Saved me from the dark_**

"So what can we do...?" Skyfire murmured, looking up at the sky as if for inspiration, not really expecting an answer. The flier looked up at him, shut off his optics for a moment with a sigh and wriggled out of his arms, pulling himself up and lying along Skyfire's chest with his chin in his fists. "For a start, _you_'ve got to get back. Someone may have noticed I'm missing, even if Megatron hasn't-"

Skyfire's optics narrowed. "You can't stay with him, Starscream..."

"I can and I will!" the seeker hissed, sitting bolt upright on Skyfire's chest and glaring at him. "He is going to fall one day, and I'll be there to laugh in his face!"

**_Bade my blood to run_**

A hard silence fell, until Skyfire sighed and touched Starscream's face. The flier rolled his optics at the tactics, but leant into the caress and accepted it as an apology all the same. They stayed there for a moment more, the pale sunlight growing stronger overhead, until they both moved reluctantly to get up and stepped into the sky, hands clasping once more in a silent farewell as they turned to go their separate ways.

**_Before I came undone_**

One last glance back - white, silver and red blazing in the early sunlight, Apollo the innocent sinner and the flaming pillar of white fire burning in the sky.

**_You saved me from the nothing I'd become._**

One last glance...

_**Brought me to life.**_

* * *

And there it is. Nothing settled for definite, but they're not shooting at each other now. And I finally had a bash at Ss/Sf slash - it always seems easier with Dreadmoon. Probably because of the height difference - I can never quite get my head round it. As ever guys, read and review. 

Starscream and Skyfire are © Hasbro. I think. The story is © me, just so you know who to blame ;)


End file.
